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Conquering China, part nine - End of the Season

Here we are at last, then. It's been a season of ups and down - more downs than ups recently - and now it's time to finish things off, hopefully with a flourish and not a whimper.

Part eight is here. Part one and the introduction to this crazy quest can be found here.

The international break was really well-timed. With the
extra week or so off, we were able to get a couple of players back from injury
in time for the big home game against Guangzhou. Given what Scolari said about
us earlier in the year (which actually might have turned out to be true), I
would have loved the chance to damage their title push.

Hopes of doing that took a blow just a minute in, when Wenyi
was forced into pulling off a wonder save to prevent them taking a ridiculously
early lead. Having survived that early scare, we made a couple of opportunities
of our own, and forced their keeper into a decent double save.

Half hour gone, Jackson Martinez did that thing that all
half-decent strikers did against us and find space at the back post for an easy
tap-in. The Champions were well in control of the remainder of the half.

We regrouped during the half-time interval and gave the
second half a real go. I thought our second half performance was good enough
for a point, but we just couldn’t get that goal. Jin Bo easily had the best
chance, the ball landing at his feet with the goal at his mercy, yet he took
the amazing decision to stand there and do nothing until the keeper came and
took it off him. 1-0 to Guangzhou; another defeat but a decent display.

Beijing likely weren’t impressed with our failure to take
any points off their main title rival and certainly let us know about it.

Beijing were on the title charge and no lowly team from
North-East China was going to stand in their way. We were 3-0 down before
half-time, having been thoroughly chewed up and spat out again. It was a case
of damage limitation in the second half. Jin Bo scored a consolation goal
towards the end.

With the final two games of the season being against the two
relegated sides, we had a chance to end the season on a high.

A goal down inside four minutes. Another cross. The rest of
the half was poor from us. 2-0 down early in the second half from a set-piece.
Can you guess which team had been relegated here?

It got worse. A long-throw wasn’t dealt with and it was 3-0
after 60 minutes. We played out the remaining half hour in a stupor, surprised
by the efficiency of Chongqing and our inability to defend any sort of ball
that was airborne. A fourth arrived in the 90th minute, coming from
yet another cross and capping off an utterly humiliating experience. What a way
to thank the fans for their support during a long season.

That was one of the few times I went ballistic on the team.
I didn’t care that morale was very poor or that our results had been bad
recently. I let everyone know how badly they performed during the team talk and
press conference. It was a terrible decision on my part but it was also
cathartic, in a way. And I was able to hold a team meeting and restore some
morale afterwards.

The final game away to Liaoning was a chance to put right
some of the wrongs from the previous game. I made a few changes, feeling that
then was a good time for a shake-up.

The damage from the previous game and its fallout was seen
early on, as we played with little confidence and almost went a goal behind. It
took about 25 minutes for us to start playing. Han Xuan gave us a rare lead,
then Tae-Goon scored what was likely his final goal for the club. The second
half was comfortable, and we added third through Zhao Ming.

Liaoning pulled a goal back with a set-piece, and then made
it 3-2 in the 85th minute. I stated fearing the worse. Surely we weren’t going
to bottle this. Surely not.

Thankfully, we held out for the win, otherwise I might have
resigned there and then.

And that’s it, ladies and gentleman. My first season in the
Chinese Super League has come to a close, and we’ve accomplished what everyone
thought wouldn’t happen: avoid relegation. Comfortably.

The second half of our season was poor by the standards we
set during the first half. Our final position was only achievable thanks to our
outstanding form early on. That, and the poor form of other teams, meant we
were never in any danger of being in a relegation battle. Nonetheless, I was
very pleased with how the season had turned out.

Elsewhere, Beijing ended the streak! Guangzhou’s grip on the
title was finally broken, and I like to think we did our bit to contribute to
that by being awful against them.

Alex Teixeira won the Player of the Year and the Foreign
Player of the Year, while Wei Shihao won Young Player of the Year. Alberto
Zaccheroni picked up the Manager of the Year.

We had our own personal awards. It was no surprise that Ha
Tae-Goon was voted our best player.

And here’s what the board and media made of our season:

I held a meeting with the team before they all flew off for
their holiday – some of whom would not be coming back. I praised them for a
fantastic season, and outlined my ambition for next year: we were going for
that comfortable mid-table spot, like the one we were currently in. Everyone
was happy with that.

It’s been a very enjoyable and unique experience so far, and
it’s far from over. We’ve managed to beat the drop with ease this time, but
next season, with the squad facing some significant turnover, comes with a
whole new set of challenges.

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Currently studying Creative and Professional Writing at the University of East London. I have written for Back Page Football and FM Blog. Long standing Arsenal fan, for better or worse, and follower of Sevilla and Southend. FM fanatic. Find me on Twitter and Facebook.